Do you sometimes feel that many of the calls you get from customers are a little unnecessary? Your agents may often encounter callers who repeatedly ask for the same information over and over, while others simply don t know how else they could access the data they need using other means. These types of calls could easily be prevented if you have the right customer support mechanisms in place.

There could be many reasons behind seemingly unimportant customer calls. For example, some customers are unsure of how to track deliveries or they want to clarify complicated processes. This mainly results from unclear communication between brand representatives and clients, overly detailed forms, or confusing instructions. On other occasions, however, the negligence may be coming from your agents. Failure to take an action or follow up customers about ongoing processes could be the culprit.

To resolve this issue, here are five effective call center practices that can reduce your call volume and help you manage your customer relations better.

1. Visualize processes through maps.

Customer journey maps are visual representations of the customers’ experience. They provide an overview of the entire experience that a brand promises to its clients. A map detailing the steps or phases that your customers would have to go through will educate them about your brand.

As a form of customer support, this lets them know where to get the information they need and how to maximize the products and services you offer.

2. Promote self-service in online platforms.

Some brands struggle with educating their customers so that they d be more independent consumers. As a first step, building a culture of self-service may start in your online platforms. Aside from having a team of call center agents, there are numerous online tools that would ultimately improve your services. Some of these customer self-service tools include web page search, a compilation of FAQs, online shopping and payment, and virtual assistants.

3. Categorize customer calls.

One of the best ways of reducing your call center’s call volume is with the use of an interactive voice response (IVR) system. With an IVR in place, all the calls are easily categorized and routed to the appropriate agents or teams. When you categorize customer calls, you re actually categorizing market demands. Analyzing what makes your clients push the hotline button would help you pinpoint where the usual problems are coming from. This way, you can identify bottlenecks and problematic processes so you can ensure they won t occur again. As a result, you d get fewer misrouted calls and happier customers.

4. Always give correct and verified information.

Good customer relations are fostered through the continuous process of trust building. Providing the right information especially at the very onset of brand-customer interactions would not only help you create good first impressions, it would also help you lessen the number of calls you receive and keep up your reputation as a reliable and trustworthy brand.

5. Understand the customer lifecycle.

As one of the frameworks of customer support, customer lifecycle management is an approach that aims to understand how your customers interact with your brand. What touchpoints do they have access to? What phases do they go through before finally making a purchase? Understanding these aspects would help you increase customer satisfaction as you devise smoother and more convenient transactions for your market.

In an industry that thrives on tight competitions among businesses, it’s crucial to get your message across by providing the best options to your target market. Succeeding in cutting down the volume of customer transactions in your call center means that you’re able to enhance the customer experience, leading to improved and long lasting customer relations.